You know it is spring baseball time when the weather turns cold and wet. The Grandson hit a batter, by accident he says, then discovered the theory of Mutually Assured Destruction when it was his turn to bat.

Baseball mimics life in so many ways.

Popped a V-belt on the big tiller. Called my usual repair shop and was told they had one. Went there. They didn't. Called four other places. Found one. Everyone told me the same. They had reduced their inventory because of the economy and so many people were buying over the Internet.

Internet shopping works great except when you need a part to complete a job NOW.

Been arguing with a Leftie about poverty and its relationship with crime. He claimed that crime and poverty increase together. That's intuitive, right?

In 1960 the crime rate as a percent of population was around 2%. As of 2007 it was around 3.7% or almost double versus the population increase of around 70%. As we have grown we have become more violent, more prone to commit crimes. And the increase has outstripped population growth.

That tells me that we are doing something wrong.

Of course the poverty level keeps climbing. The government said the poverty level in 2008 was $21,834 for a family with two children. Where does it stop and how do we fix it? LBJ's "War On Poverty" is a demonstrated total abject failure.

I was raised poor but very few around me had more. I was also raised to understand that the way to get things was to work. Study and education was just part of the solution. I don't think we are raising people to work anymore. And study and education has become the solution, not part of it.

Now it is study and educate and then somehow a job will appear that matches all of your expectations for fulfilment, travel and adventure.

Ain't gonna happen children. You're gonna have to work to find a job and work to keep that job and the boss may be an ass and no one will give you a prize for just showing up and being part of the team. Childhood has ended.

No prizes for just doing what you are supposed to. Prizes are for doing more than you're supposed to.